


a sky full of stars

by tatoeba



Series: 2016 autumn fic meme [6]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bonfires, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, i don't even know ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-28 23:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8466862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatoeba/pseuds/tatoeba
Summary: Chanyeol is so taken by the pretty smile, the bright eyes, the way this boy seems to glow in the light of the fire that he fumbles over the next notes and his guitar makes a screeching noise that has him wincing.





	

**Author's Note:**

> for #23 "bonfire" from the [autumn fic meme](http://ficmemes.tumblr.com/post/151199114438/autumn-fic-meme). no one actually requested this but i wanted to write a chankai for it T_T this is not so much autumny as it is chankai being cute idk this is just what came out lol enjoy? 
> 
> title from the coldplay song of the same name.

The fire is blazing, there’s the sound of crickets chirping in the distance, the whisper of the trees as the wind blows. It’s perfect. Chanyeol’s been waiting for this. He reaches around behind the makeshift log bench to pull his guitar out of its case. 

A few gentle strums on the strings and Baekhyun yells, “Chanyeol if you so much as think about playing Wonderwall I’m going to use your guitar as extra firewood.” 

Chanyeol clutches his guitar tighter in horror. “Don’t touch my baby,” he hisses, glaring at Baekhyun who is sitting a few feet away, sprawled halfway over Yixing. At least Yixing, too, looks slightly alarmed by Baekhyun’s threat. He understands the Bond between a musician and his instrument. 

“I won’t have to if you play something good,” Baekhyun says and Chanyeol pouts as he turns his attention back to making sure his guitar is properly tuned. 

He catches bits and pieces of the conversation around him: Sehun and Kyungsoo discussing a movie they want to go see together, Junmyeon demanding to know who ate half a bag of marshmallows already before they’d even started making s’mores, and Jongdae on the phone, sounding like he’s checking in on someone. Chanyeol vaguely remembers him saying his cousin was gonna come up to join them tonight, but he can’t be sure. 

It doesn’t matter anyway. Chanyeol’s got songs to play. 

He makes it through ten seconds before Kyungsoo groans. “Don’t you dare play Creep,” he says and Chanyeol squawks indignantly. 

“Y’all are haters,” he yells, and Baekhyun snorts. 

“No, we just hate your taste in music.” 

Chanyeol drags his fingers across the strings as loudly as he can, and feels slightly vindicated when Baekhyun winces. It doesn’t last long though, not when Yixing’s petting his hair after and his expression falls into something totally sappy. Chanyeol grumbles to himself, considering for a moment before he launches into Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend. 

Predictably, Kyungsoo perks up, and halfway through the song, he starts singing along. Yixing claps when they finish and Chanyeol laughs, picks up his bottle of beer from the ground to take a swig. He plays a couple of more songs, some Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, more Justin Bieber on Kyungsoo’s request. Junmyeon sits down beside Chanyeol on the log with marshmallow on a skewer. 

Chanyeol watches him roast the marshmallows as he sings Ed Sheeran, and he’s in the middle of Bloodstream when he catches sight of the most beautiful person he’s ever seen. 

He’s so taken by the pretty smile, the bright eyes, the way this boy seems to glow in the light of the fire that he fumbles over the next notes and his guitar makes a screeching noise that has him wincing. 

“The fuck are you doing?” Sehun says, giving Chanyeol’s guitar a glare like it’s offended him. 

“Did you forget the lyrics again?” Baekhyun asks, but Chanyeol barely seems to hear them, his gaze still on the mystery boy sitting over on Sehun’s other side. 

The boy looks up at him, then, catching his eyes, and Chanyeol’s heart does a weird little flopping thing in his chest at the shy smile he receives. He’s not sure if he manages a proper smile back, he just feels suddenly out of his element. Why didn’t anyone warn him about this boy? 

Thankfully no one seems to notice anything amiss, and Chanyeol stops staring when the boy turns to talk with Jongdae. This must be his cousin, then. Chanyeol didn’t even notice him coming in, but he definitely notices him now and it’s taking a lot of effort not to keep stealing glances. He takes a long drink from his beer before he nudges Junmyeon in the side and asks, “Jongdae’s cousin...What’s his name again?” 

“Jongin,” Junmyeon answers easily. “He just transferred to our school, remember? He starts when we get back.” 

“Oh,” Chanyeol says, nodding. He doesn’t remember all of that, but he’s glad, suddenly, that this is the case. Maybe he’ll get the chance to see Jongin on campus. 

“You should go talk to him yourself if you’re so interested,” Junmyeon says and Chanyeol jerks back, a protest on his lips, but it dies down in the face of Junmyeon’s quirked brow. 

“Fine,” Chanyeol says, straightening up with bravado. “Maybe I will.” 

Junmyeon just laughs and pats Chanyeol’s knee, and then he’s up and gone to get something else to eat, probably, leaving Chanyeol with his guitar and his thoughts. 

He’s not alone for very long, though, because suddenly Junmyeon’s spot is taken by none other than Jongin himself, sitting toward the edge of the log to keep some space between him and Chanyeol. His smile is not as shy as earlier, but he looks a little uncertain as he asks, “Is it okay if I join you?” 

“Yeah,” Chanyeol says, probably too eagerly. “Of course. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting--uh, I’m Chanyeol.” 

Jongin laughs softly. It’s a nice laugh. “I know,” he says. “Jongdae introduced me to everyone while you were playing.” He looks down at Chanyeol’s guitar, then back up. “You’re really good.” 

Chanyeol’s heard that before, and he knows he’s good. But hearing it from Jongin makes him flush. He rubs the back of his neck and says, “Thanks. I practice a lot.” 

“Are you studying music?” Jongin asks and Chanyeol nods with a grin. 

“I wanna produce music someday,” he says. “Like I enjoy singing and playing myself, but I really wanna write music and work with other artists and make albums, you know? I want to make people happy with my music.” He stops suddenly, realizing he’s getting carried away, and smiles sheepishly at Jongin who is watching him closely, eyes wide. “That probably sounds lame, right? Too big of a dream.” 

Jongin shakes his head. “No, not at all,” he says and he sounds completely earnest. Not the sort of indulgent way his parents sound when Chanyeol tell them the same thing. “I think it’s cute.” Chanyeol’s heart skips a beat at that, and Jongin, seemingly catching what he just admitted, looks away quickly, fumbling over his words as he adds, “I just mean--It’s nice. That you’re so passionate about it.” 

“Well, what about you?” Chanyeol asks, curious. He’ll pick apart that _cute_ thing later. As far as he can tell, the cute one between them is definitely Jongin. “What’re you passionate about?” 

“Sleeping,” Jongin says with such a straight face Chanyeol almost believes him, until Jongin laughs. It’s a much brighter, fuller laugh than before, and the firelight only makes him look even more beautiful. “I’m kidding,” he says. “I’m a dance major.” 

A spark of realization hits Chanyeol hard and he gasps. “Oh! You’re _that_ cousin,” he says, suddenly remembering. “Jongdae’s shown us some of your dance videos.” 

Even in the darkness, it’s clear that Jongin’s blushing as he groans and hides his face for a moment. “Jongdae is so embarrassing,” he whines and it’s so cute that Chanyeol laughs, itches to reach out and ruffle his hair. He wonders if it’s as soft as it looks. He curls his fingers around his guitar instead. “I can’t believe he’s shown you any of that.” 

“He’s proud of you,” Chanyeol insists as Jongin lowers his hands, peers up at him thoughtfully. “And he should be. _You’re_ really good. I’m a terrible dancer.” 

“You can’t be any worse than Jongdae,” Jongin says with a laugh. 

“Trust me,” Chanyeol says somberly. “It’s bad.” 

“Then...maybe I could teach you sometime,” Jongin offers quietly. His eyes though, they’re hopeful, enticing, and the butterflies in Chanyeol’s stomach are practically telling him he’d be a fool not to agree. 

He doesn’t get the chance though, because suddenly Jongdae is barreling into Chanyeol’s back, an arm around his neck in a loose chokehold as he demands, “What’re you two talking about so seriously? You’re not bothering my baby cousin, are you, Chanyeol?”

“N-No,” Chanyeol says quickly, and the interruption is almost like that first breath you take after being underwater too long. He’s suddenly aware of everyone else around them, the crackling of the fire, the chatter of his friends as they drink and relax. He even spots Minseok with Junmyeon and wonders when the hell he got there. Had he really been that focused on Jongin this whole time? 

“I’m the one who came to talk to him,” Jongin says, grabbing Jongdae’s elbow and tugging him back. 

Jongdae makes a low humming noise as he looks between them. His eyes narrow, like he’s trying to assess something, but eventually he just says, “All right. If he bothers you, though, let me know, okay?” He gives Jongin’s hair a rough ruffle and Jongin splutters, swatting at his hands. “Go make some s’mores, too or something.” 

“Yeah, we will,” Jongin says, and Jongdae shoots Chanyeol one last dark look before he leaves and Chanyeol shouldn’t really be scared of Jongdae, because he’s like a tiny smurf, but he shudders a little anyway. Jongin seems to notice and says, “Don’t mind him. He’s always been kind of protective.” 

“It’s probably gonna be worse now that you’re joining us at school,” Chanyeol laughs and Jongin groans again. 

“I knoooow,” he says cutely. “It’s impossible to date with him always…hovering.” 

Chanyeol licks his lips, looking down at his guitar as he considers. He plucks at a few strings, then hefts his guitar back up properly in his lap so he can play mindlessly, letting his fingers move across the fret and the strings with ease. When he glances back, Jongin is watching him play with a soft look on his face, and Chanyeol ventures, “You’re not dating anyone right now, then, are you?” 

“No,” Jongin says, shyly meeting Chanyeol’s eyes, “I’m not.” 

Biting his lip to keep from smiling too wide, Chanyeol nods, whispers, “Good,” to himself, but he thinks Jongin might’ve heard anyway, as he laughs. 

He doesn’t say anything about it though, but he does shift a little closer to Chanyeol’s side, closing the distance between them. “Do you guys do things like this a lot?” he asks, looking out around the group. 

“If we can,” Chanyeol says, grinning as he catches sight of Sehun making s’mores and Baekhyun attempting to shove leaves down Kyungsoo’s shirt. “It’s nice, you know? To get away from it all sometimes. And it helps that Junmyeon’s family is super rich and don’t mind us coming up to their cabin to have bonfires.” 

“That definitely helps,” Jongin laughs. 

“Even if it’s for a weekend, it’s always fun,” Chanyeol adds. “Plus, I get to show off my skills when we’re here.” He strums his guitar a little louder pointedly as he continues to play a song by The Script. “Sometimes Yixing plays, too, but I think he’s been distracted by Baekhyun today.” 

“Baekhyun does seem the distracting type,” Jongin says, watching as Baekhyun shouts loudly and runs away from a furious-looking Kyungsoo, who chases after him easily. “Are they always like this?” 

“Always,” Chanyeol confirms. “You’ll get used to it.” The strings of his guitar screech a bit as he abruptly stops playing, tapping at the wood with his fingertips for a moment before he launches into a different song. “Are you nervous about transferring?” 

Jongin shrugs noncommittally, curls his fingers into the slightly too long sleeves of his sweater. “A little,” he says. “But I have Jongdae, and Sehun’s in dance, too, so we’ve been talking for awhile as I got everything figured out.” He smiles another one of those pretty smiles that are really starting to make Chanyeol weak. “Besides, everyone here is really nice.” He cuts his gaze over to Chanyeol. “You’re really nice.” 

“I’m the nicest out of all of us, okay,” Chanyeol insists, delighted when it makes Jongin giggle. “Don’t let any of them tell you otherwise.” 

“Got it,” Jongin beams. 

He’s beautiful. Chanyeol feels a little breathless just looking at him. He wants to say something else, keep this conversation going, the comfortable atmosphere between them that makes it feel like they’re the only two in the world, but instead he’s suddenly hit with the realization that he’s only known Jongin for a short hour or two and he’s already developed a massive crush. Instead of saying anything, Chanyeol panics. 

“I’m--uh--I’ll be right back, okay?” he says, standing abruptly. He sets his guitar down carefully and trudges his way into Junmyeon’s family cabin through the back, making sure to properly close the door behind him so no bugs get inside. He ends up in the bathroom, splashing cool water into his face in an attempt to calm down. It doesn’t help as well as he’d like, but what else can he do? 

He knows he’s panicking over nothing, really. It’s just some harmless flirting. Nothing to worry about. Right. He takes a deep breath, shakes out the remaining nerves with a little full-bodied wriggle, and then heads back out. 

He is not expecting to run into Jongin just a few steps into the hall. “Oh, hey,” he say, suddenly feeling awkward. 

“Are you okay?” Jongin asks. His brows are furrowed and there’s a little frown on his face and he’s not bathed in the glow of the fire but he’s still so beautiful. Chanyeol is fucked. “You looked like something was wrong, when you left.” 

“I’m fine,” Chanyeol says with what he hopes is a convincing smile. “I just needed some air,” he says, then, realizing they were already outside and that doesn’t even make sense, tacks on, “Uh, wait, I mean--” 

Jongin’s laugh cuts him off and the embarrassed flush that’d been threatening its way up Chanyeol’s neck turns into more of delighted warmth at the sight. Jongin laughs with his whole body it seems, shoulders bouncing, a hand in front of his mouth as if to hide his smile, his eyes crinkled in the corners. “You’re cute,” Jongin says when his laughter has faded, and before Chanyeol and blurt out that he thinks Jongin is way cuter, Jongin is grabbing his hand and dragging him back outside. 

The mid autumn weather is unforgiving chill, but with Jongin’s hand in his, Chanyeol only feels warm. The fire continues to blaze magnificently and the sky has darkened fully. Soon, Baekhyun will start telling wildly farfetched ghost stories or demanding to play truth or dare like they’re back in middle school, and whine when everyone complains his dares are too outlandish and his truths too invasive. Chanyeol grins just thinking about it as he and Jongin return to their original spot around the fire and Chanyeol pulls his guitar back into his lap. 

He strums a few chords, glances around at his group of friends. Junmyeon is already drunk, if the way he’s leaning on Jongdae is any indication, and Sehun has joined Baekhyun and Yixing in a little cuddle pile, sharing marshmallows. Minseok and Kyungsoo are conversing quietly together, probably discussing classes or something, and Jongin...Jongin sits beside Chanyeol, a look of wonder on his face as he stares up at the sky. 

Chanyeol doesn’t really think as he switches songs, like his fingers have a mind of their own. “Cause you're a sky full of stars,” he sings softly as plays, his gaze lingering on Jongin before he, too, looks up into the glittering darkness. “I'm gonna give you my heart.”

Beside him, Jongin’s smile widens, and he shifts closer until their shoulders touch.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. my uni had a fall break every year in october, just like 2 days off before a weekend which is kind of what i was imagining them to be on in this but idt that's something that happens everywhere so that's why it's vague LOL basically just picture they went away for a weekend to drink and procrastinate 
> 
> 2\. i wanted to write a kiss for chankai but it didn't seem fitting. they'll get there. eventually. 
> 
> 3\. when i started this i wasn't expecting it to turn out this way but i quite like it. :3 it's been awhile since i've written a chankai meet-cute! 
> 
> 4\. maybe i'll add more to this later we'll see
> 
> 5\. thank u for reading~ ❤
> 
> come say hi on [twitter](http://twitter.com/xingkais) | [ask.fm](http://ask.fm/koiyake) | [tumblr](http://koiyake.tumblr.com)


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